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Climate Courage and Mental Health

Climate Courage and Mental Health

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 Questions

Learning objectives:

Participants will be able to:

  • Describe the range of mental health responses to climate change.
  • Describe some of the factors that help people face the reality of climate change.
  • Understand the creative ways that people cope with overwhelming feelings of fear, grief and hopelessness in relation to climate change.
  • Discuss with their patients the positive mental health impact of working together with others for a cause they deeply believe in.

Abstract:

This hour-long podcast explores how coping with the mental health impacts of climate change can make us more effective at combating it. We hear stories about the challenges of facing the facts about climate change and feeling the emotions that come up including grief, hopelessness, and fear. Finally, we consider how taking action can actually lead us to greater strength, connection, and impact.

Outline

  • Anne Bequette on PTSD from surviving a hurricane (4:30)
  • John Kaiser on moving from climate denial to acceptance and advocacy (13:05)
  • Chris Childs on what helps him cope with fear and grief about climate change (18:50)
  • Maia Wikler on grief about climate change and how connection to the natural world helps (26:08)
  • Ayla Zeimer on hopelessness for the future and how it affects the decision to have a child(30:10)
  • Kate Schapira on talking about Climate Anxiety (38:50)
  • Rachel Burger on the mental health benefits of joining with others to address climate change (45:35)

Discussion questions:

  • One of the most surprising parts of the show is when 9 year old Chris Childs explains that his biggest fear about Climate change is facing the fact that humans are making the world worse. Why do you think this is the hardest part for a child?
  • What do you think are the biggest obstacles today for people in facing the reality of the Climate Crisis and taking action?
  • As a clinician, we are faced with the same existential threats from Climate Change as are our patients. How does this affect how we talk about it with them?
  • Lertzman cautions us from using fear as a motivating factor to get people involved in fighting climate change. Does this resonate for you? What motivates you?

Links to additional resources:

Reading

An Inconvenient Truth
Al Gore

The Great Derangement
Amitav Gosh

Drawdown: the Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Climate Change
Paul Hawken

This Changes Everything
Naomi Klein

Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re In Without Going Crazy
Joanna Macy

Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change
George Marshall

The Madhouse Effect
Michael Mann & Tom Toles

The End of Nature
Bill McKibben

Learning to Die in the Anthropocene
Roy Scranton

Climate Shock: Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet
Gernot Wagner & Martin L. Weitzman

The Uninhabitable Earth
David Wallace-Wells

General Resources for Learning About Climate Change

Climate Change: How Do We Know?
NASA Earth Science Communications

Global Oneness Project

13 Misconceptions About Global Warming (Video)
Derek Muller

Our Climate, Our Future

One Thing You Can Do—Know Your Climate Facts
Susan Shain & Esther Horvath—New York Time

Climate Change Myths
Skeptical Science

Climate Change & Mental Health

Climate Change’s Toll on Mental Health
American Psychological Association

First Step to Stop Eco-Grieving Over Climate Change? Admit There’s a Problem.
Judy Fahys—NPR

Climate Change and Mental Health: Risks, Impacts, and Priority Actions
Katie Hayes et al.—International Journal of Mental Health Systems

What Psychotherapy Can Do for the Climate and Biodiversity Crisis
Caroline Hickman—The Conversation

How Hope and Doubt Effect Climate Change Mobilization
Jennifer R. Marlon, et al.—Frontiers in Communication

We Need Courage, Not Hope, to Face Climate Change
Kate Marvel—OnBeing

Scientists Share Their Grief, Anger, and Hope Over Climate Change(Video)
Peter Sinclair—Yale Climate Connections

Climate Lab Playlist (videos)
Vox

Why Climate Change Does Not Scare Us (Yet)
Elke U. Weber—Climatic Change

Climate Change in the American Mind
Yale Center for Climate Change Communications

Coronavirus Doubters Follow Climate Denial Playbook
Yale Climate Connections

Talking About Climate Change

How to Talk Effectively About Climate Change
Max Boykoff—Scientific American

Reassessing Emotion in Climate Change Communication
Daniel Chapman, Brian Lickel, and Ezra Markowitz—Nature Climate Change

The Most Important Thing You Can Do to Fight Climate Change: Talk About It
Katherine Hayhoe—TED Talk

6 Tips for Talking to Kids About Climate Change
Anya Kamenetz—NPR

Is There a Climate ‘Spiral of Silence’ in America?
Edward Maibach et al.—Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

How to Talk About Climate Change so People Will Listen
Charles C. Mann—The Atlantic

The Secret to Talking About Climate Change (Video)
Our Climate, Our Future

The Role of Emotion in Global Warming Policy Support and Opposition
Nicholas Smith and Andy Leiserowitz—Risk Analysis

Children’s Books About Climate Change
Yale Climate Connections

Climate Justice

Lessons from 40 Years of Documenting Environmental Racism
Robert Bullard—The Revelator

7 Young Indigenous Activists Standing Up for Their Communities
Jackie Menjivar—DoSomething.org

Carbon Majors Cannot Put Their Interests Before Humanity’s Survival
Kumi Naidoo—Amnesty International

Why Climate Change is Anti-Justice (Video)
PBS Digital Studio

The Health Impacts of Climate-Related Migration
P Schwerdtle et al.—BMC Medicine

I Survived Climate Disaster, But I Don’t Want to Be a Climate Statistic
Marinel Ubaldo—Teen Vogue

Organizations

Climate Action

Climate for Health

Earth Guardians

Energy Justice Network

Fossil Free

Institute for a Sustainable Future

Movement Generation

NAACP Environmental & Climate Justice Program

Our Climate Voices

Project Drawdown

Sunrise Movement

SustainUS

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

Zero Hour

350.org

 Proceed to Questions

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Generously supported by:

  • The Annie E. Casey Foundation
  • The Lucy R. Sprague Charisma Fund
  • The Equity Fund
  • The Fleming Family Foundation
  • The Hope and Grace Fund
  • Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation
  • The Lerner Foundation
  • The Matthewson Foundation
  • The Pinkerton Foundation
  • The Pink House Foundation
  • The Rines Thompson Fund
  • The Sam L. Cohen Foundation

We Can Talk About it!

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